Subway Series: Positional Preview

For the first time in 2011 the New York Yankees and New York Mets square off at Yankee Stadium. This kicks off Inter-league play for 2011 and I’ll be making my way down the the Bronx this Sunday for the afternoon finale.

Before analyzing the battle of New York, I have to know three things: 1.) Who ya got? 2.) Make your case as to whether New York is an AL or NL town. 3.) Name your favorite player to have played for both teams.

Gerald Williams, Al Leiter and Kevin Elster all played here and played for both clubs. Kevin Elster also being the answer to the one game I left too early. Back in 1994 when Elster was playing for the Albany-Colonie Yankees, they were facing the New Britain Red Sox in a doubleheader. Long story short, Elster hit a walk-off grand slam to win it.

Here’s a look at the positional battles:

Catcher: Russell Martin vs. Josh Thole

Martin has picked it back up of late, has the power numbers and has raised his average about 20 points in the past week. Meanwhile Thole has had his moments this season. Both backstops have done a commendable job of signal calling behind home plate, especially given each respective staff.

Edge: Yankees

First Base: Mark Teixeira vs. Daniel Murphy

Both players can be streaky at times. Murphy has filled in admirably, whether in the infield or outfield for the Mets. Teixeira has the power numbers with ten homers and 25 RBI, as well as the glove.

Edge: Yankees

Second Base: Robinson Cano vs. Ruben Tejada

Cano has cooled in the power department this past week but his average risen. Cano also leads the Yanks in hits with 46. Tejada just called up from Triple-A Buffalo, could be groomed to replace Jose Reyes at Short. Tejada is an interesting prospect but Cano might be the best second baseman in baseball.

Edge: Yankees

Shortstop: Derek Jeter vs. Jose Reyes

Jeter has picked it up of late but Reyes has been spectacular from the start. Both are close in runs, homers and RBI, but Reyes is solidly in front when it comes to extra base hits, steals and average.

Edge: Mets

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez vs. Justin Turner

A-Rod is starting to look like he did prior to his oblique injury, with some pop of late. Turner has been a Godsend for the Mets, first at their revolving door at second and now with David Wright out at third. As clutch as Turner has been, the numbers still favor A-Rod.

Edge: Yankees

Left Field: Brett Gardner vs. Jason Bay

Gardner has gotten his average to respectability of late, while Bay after a decent start has been on-and-off.

Edge: Push

Center Field: Curtis Granderson vs. Jason Pridie

Granderson may well be the starting center fielder for the AL All-Star team in Arizona with his team leading 14 homers, 4 triples, 30 runs and .610 slugging percentage. Pridie much like Turner, has filled in admirably in center. Pridie’s defense has been stellar and he has come through with some timely hits.

Edge: Yankees

Right Field: Nick Swisher vs. Carlos Beltran

Given the Mets luck, just having Beltran healthy and playing is a plus. Beltran leads the Mets in homers, is second in RBI and tied for first in doubles. Swisher seems to be finding his stroke of late, but there’s still more heavy lifting to be done.

Edge: Mets

DH: Jorge Posada vs. Fernando Martinez

The Mets wanting to give prospect Fernando Martinez some more regular at bats, will likely slot him into the DH hole. Though one wonders why the Mets wouldn’t take advantage of the DH to put Bay or Beltran there for some extra rest. Posada has been piecing together some better games after taking himself out of the lineup.

Edge: Push

Starting Pitching:

Freddy Garcia has been steady for the Yankees, but does seem to have his limits, if not one inning that comes up and bites him. R.A. Dickey has been pretty awful all season for the Mets, maybe the better weather will give him a better feel for the knuckle-ball.

Chris Capuano has given the Mets some respectable outings of late. A.J. Burnett has been susceptible to the long ball in his last few starts. There’s no telling which one of these guys shows up at any given time.

Ivan Nova seems to have two good starts for every one bad one. Nova was solid against a good Tampa squad his last time out. Mike Pelfrey is slowly rounding back into the pitcher he was in 2010, as evidenced by his last start against Florida.

Edge: Yankees

Bullpen:

For each team the closers have been pretty solid. One could argue that K-Rod is having the more dominant season, though he has walked more batters than one would like to see. Since Mariano Rivera is virtually machine like, I’ll give the Yankees a slight edge here.

Edge: Yankees

Bench:

Both benches are awfully depleted, whether by injuries or pitching needs in the bullpen. I’ll give the Mets a slight edge here.

Edge: Mets

Manager: Joe Girardi vs. Terry Collins

Girardi righted the ship after a weekend of controversy. It seems as though Girardi always gets himself in trouble with the fans and media for his reliance on “The Binder” and sometimes rightfully so, but when the dust clears, the Yankees are right about where they should be. Collins has gotten a lot out of a team that has no real ace on the staff, has been plagued by injuries and has ownership issues which could lead to a fire-sale hanging over the heads of his players. Yet Collins has his club within a game of .500 and over .500 on the road, playing in a division with three legit playoff contenders.

One Response

Mike, all due respect…totally worthless to do this comparison given all the injuries to the Mets players…if the Mets can “steal” either game that Nova and Garcia pitches I will be happy….just a really bad time for this match-up….sometimes the JV steps up and beats the varsity in scrimmages…I know we did back in the day….Burnett will pitch a great game against the Mets, IMO

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